Multi-Site

FAQ’s on Multi-Sites

What is a multi-site? 
A multi-site church is one church meeting in multiple locations – different rooms on the same campus, different locations in the same region, or in some instances, different cities, states, or nations. A multi-site church shares a common vision, budget, leadership and board.  We already provide worship in separate locations through our video café and Arbors ministry.

What does a multi-site church look like?
The quickest way to answer that is to imagine the video café set up at another location equipped with a worship team, hospitality team, and kids ministries.  For some churches, having multiple sites involves only a worship service at each location; for |others, each location has a full range of support ministries. Some churches use videocast sermons (recorded or live); others have in-person teaching on-site. Some churches maintain a similar worship atmosphere and style at all their campuses, and others allow or invite variation.

If you are wondering what ours will look like, we will use video with perhaps some in-person speaking.  We will offer children’s ministry and develop home groups.  The other ministries of DCC church like students, women’s, men’s, etc. can be accessed at the Dominion Campus.

Why a multi-site?
The purpose of becoming a multi-site church is to change people into devoted followers of Christ who change the world with his love.  The motivation is to do a better job of loving people, including different types of people, with an outcome of making significant advances in obeying Jesus’ Great Commandment (Matt. 22:37-40) and Great Commission (Matt. 28:19-20). Churches report that conversion growth is greater on their extension campuses than at the original campus.

The Great Commission starts with the little but important word “Go.”The need in our community is great.  We live in Dane County (most of us) with a half a million people, most who aren’t part of a church where the Gospel of Jesus Christ is taught.  Some have the number over 90%!

We are spread out around Dane County with over 40% of attendees driving over twenty minutes to get to DCC. We feel the best strategy for this is to create new sites—doing many of the things we do now—in strategic locations.

What are the advantages of a multi-site church?

  • Assists in reaching friends and family unwilling to travel a great distance to church
  • Brings the resources of a healthy church into a new community and supports it, not for a short time, but for the duration.
  • Keeps the urgency of the Mission of God front and center and keeps us healthy as a church as we continue to stretch and leave our comfort zones for those who don’t know Christ
  • Enables untapped talent to emerge each time a new venue or site is opened
  • Mobilizes volunteers through an added variety of ministry opportunities and provides a pipeline for the development of emerging leaders and future staff
  • Improves a church’s stewardship of funds and resources
  • Brings together the best aspects of larger churches and smaller churches i.e. the
    resources of a large church, the feel and connectedness of a smaller

How do we as a church stay true to our identity and maintain unity as a multi-site church?
The most important factor in maintaining unity as one church in many locations involves the church having a crystal clear understanding of their DNA – their vision, mission and values. Continuity comes as this DNA is replicated from campus to campus and venue to venue.

How long do multi-site churches last?
Several churches have been multi-site for up to twenty years, and a handful for even longer. Some churches use a multi-site approach as a transitional strategy during a building program or a seasonal outreach. Other churches intentionally choose to be multi-site only temporarily as a church-planting strategy to help new congregations start out strong.

What criteria are we using to select our first site?
We spent much in prayer, both as leaders and the whole church.  There are five areas that we have been looking at.  These areas are geographically driven and have been chosen either because we have many people already attending from those areas, or because we thought it was important that we establish one day a new beachhead for the Gospel.  Those areas include: 

  1. The east (Deerfield, Cambridge, Lake Mills, Columbus, Marshall)
  2. North (Sun Prairie, DeForest, Windsor)
  3. Near North ( around Boomerangs up through Northport)
  4. Downtown
  5. McFarland

The Board agreed that the criteria that should guide our selection include:

  1. Where is God leading
  2. Where is there a need (we’ve quickly agreed that all of Dane County needs more Christ-centered churches)
  3. Where do our people live (proximity to our people), but not too close to our church (the Near North would be an exception because of its cultural differences)
  4. Viability – will there be enough resources to sustain the work (both with enough people and financially)
  5. Will the site have any detrimental impact on DCC

Where are we going?
After a lot of prayer and a healthy discussion, the Board moved that our first site be North. We are currently looking at DeForest and Waunkee; leaning toward DeForest.

When do we plan to launch?
Lord willing, we will launch in the early part of 2011; perhaps as early as February 1st.

Who will provide leadership for this site?
Our own Pastor Bob Goodsell, who currently serves in the areas of Adult Ministries and Discipleship, will be our first Campus Pastor.  We will be hiring a few part-time positions in Worship, Children’s Ministry and Technology.

Who is going to go?
We will send a leader and a core team of people who will go, not because they share the same zip code, but because they all share the same vision.  No one will be forced to join, but we hope all of us will begin asking God if He wants us to go.  For those who aren’t called to go, we encourage you to pray.  Here are some specific requests:

  1. Pray for our God to make it clear to those at Door Creek Church what he wants them to do.
  2. Open doors in the community:
    • Community leaders
    • People in the community (neighbors, friends, etc.)
    • Pray for the right place to meet
    • Pray for the leaders:
      • Campus Pastor, Bob Goodsell
      • Worship Director
      • Children’s Ministry Director

What do I do if I have am interested in going?
Informational Meetings will be held on Saturday, September 18th following the 5:30 p.m. service in the Auditorium and Sunday, September 26th following the 11:00 service in the Auditorium.  Everyone is invited to these meetings.